


Toxic

by OhMyLeg



Category: South Park
Genre: Abusive Parents, M/M, Suicide Attempt, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-01 08:45:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15770631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhMyLeg/pseuds/OhMyLeg
Summary: Kenny McCormick's life turns upside down when his older brother decides to leave South Park, leaving him alone with his sister and his unemployed, drugged and abusive parents.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> english is not my first lenguage so I'm sorry about the mistakes.

Kenny woke when the fight began. The walls of the house were thin enough for him to hear his father and brother yelling at each other. He didn't move as he listened to the screaming. He knew the reason, it was always because of money, drink or both, since Kevin was the only one who worked and brought money to the house, but refused to feed his parents' addiction.

These fights were getting more and more frequent and noisier, as if they hadn't been enough before. The boy put the pillow over his head in an attempt to muffle the sound and get to sleep until he heard his door creak amidst the screams, turning to look at his little sister with watery eyes as she held her doll - which he had given her five years ago.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he was sure his expression hadn't even come close to reassuring. He moved, giving room to his sister, who climbed on the bed in the same second, crying. He stroked her hair as he heard her muffled cry and the noise outside the room. Karen was already 11 years old and shouldn't have to go to sleep with her older brother, but Kenny didn't care, because his little sister was the only thing he cared about in that miserable house.

The fight ended when he heard the door slam.

Kenny was sure that his father had left home angrily after getting some money from Kevin, he always did it and then came back the next day even more drunk and drugged than before. The blond could feel his little sister trembling and hugged her tightly until they heard light knocks on the bedroom door, followed by the same creaking as before.

Kevin looked at the dark room and saw his siblings, Kenny noticed the brother's bloody forehead and got  worried, but Kevin waved him to lie still, leaving the room soon after.

They didn't take long to fall asleep after that.

 

Kenny woke up exhausted from the night before, but it was so routine that he didn't even care anymore. The boy stood up, gave Karen a light slap on her shoulder so she could get up too, but he was ignored - as usual - and grabbed some clothes. He headed for the bathroom and at the door he bumped into Kevin, who was ready to go to the Skeeter's bar, where he worked, and he had a bruise on his left eye.

coming out of the bathroom, he saw his mother sitting on the couch with a cigarette in her hand and no sign of his father. His mother had lost her job as a dishwasher and now spent the whole day sitting scratching her ass while the children had to take care of themselves. Kenny missed when they at least pretended to be a family.

Kenny entered the room, where Karen was still sleeping and tickled her until she decided to get up. Kevin usually took Karen to school in his fucked up car, since Kenny preferred to go by bus with his friends, so he told her to hurry so the older brother wouldn't be late for work.

"I need you to take Karen to a friend's house after school," Kevin had said when the girl went to the bathroom and he could talk with his brother alone.

"Why don't you do that?" The blonde asked in pure curiosity and turned to face his brother, wincing at the black eye.

"I'm going to stay late at Skeeter and Karen needs a night away from this place," Kevin said "Can you take her or not?"

"Of course," Kenny said, putting the pack on his back.

"I'm ready!" Karen said as she appeared in the bedroom door, smiling. They both smiled back, but the girl's face collapsed at the sight of Kevin's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, come on," he said simply and held out his hand for her to hold.

 

"...That's why the team sucks!" He heard Cartman say as he approached the bus stop.

"Hi, Kenny, what's up?" Stan greeted him, trying to change the subject of the conversation, and the blonde shruged.

"What's going on?"

"Cartman is pissed because he couldn't join the school team," Stan replied.

"Obviously they can't accept fat asses," Kyle commented, and Kenny saw Eric turn red with anger.

"Fuck you! they accepted damn Clyde!" He said and folded his arms.

Clyde Donovan was never one of their closest friends, at most a colleague, at least until they were out of fourth grade, and Clyde had begun to join popular groups and try to reduce the people around him to be superior. The four boys began to hate Clyde and his little group of snobbish idiots.

"Clyde is not fat," Kyle said just to counter Cartman.

"Oh, you're defending your man, Kyle?" Cartman screamed angrily and Kyle showed him the middle finger.

The school bus arrived, interrupting the discussion of the boys, who went on to their usual seats, with Kyle and Stan sitting together, Cartman and Kenny right behind. The blonde had to put up with Eric complaining about the injustice of Clyde being accepted on the team all the way through and even if he wasn't paying attention, the noise of the other boy's voice was already making him angry.

As they got off the bus, they headed straight for their lockers, but as soon as Eric opened his own, Clyde showed up - wearing his new team jacket - with his new gang and closed the other boy's locker, leaning against it so he couldn't open it, stopping them in the middle of the hall with a smile.

"Hi, Eric," he said, eyebrow arched. "I hope you're not sad about defeat, since everyone knows I'm better than you anyway..."

"Get out! Eric replied, visibly annoyed, Clyde laughed with his classmates, but began to distance "Stupid fucking asshole," Cartman grunted softly, but it was enough for the other boy to hear. Clyde turned again and looked at Eric.

"What did you say?" He asked in a serious tone, as if trying to intimidate him. Kenny wished Eric wouldn't say bullshit, but he knew Eric enough to know they were fucked.

"Fuck you, Clyde, you fucking asshole!" Cartman answered loudly. The anger on Clyde's face was intense.

"Is that so? Okay, then," Clyde said and approached, pushing Eric against the lockers. Kenny grabbed the bully by his backpack and threw him in the ground. He could take a beating or die and everything would be fine anyway. Clyde got up quickly and stared angrily at Kenny, but a teacher walked by before he could do anything "If me or my friends see any of you fools, especially you, Kenny, alone ... well, I hope you have health insurance."

Kenny rolled his eyes, from a few years ago Clyde ended up getting such a jerk that no one else could stand him. The blond didn't even take the threat seriously, since Clyde himself was known for his cowardice, but no one spoke in his face. The little group pulled away and Kenny headed for his locker again.

Eric began to massage his shoulders, where he'd been pushed, cursing Clyde of all possible names - some of them even Kenny himself didn't know.

"Since when did he become such an asshole?" Stan asked.

Eric started talking about how much he hated Clyde again and Kenny signed, that would be a long day.

 

Everyone began storing their materials as fast as they could to go home, including Mr. Garrison, who seemed to be in a hurry. Kenny didn't, since he would have to wait for Karen this time, which made the other guys wonder why when everyone was gone and the blonde was still there.

"Let's go, man," Cartman called as he left the room with the other two, who also stared at him.

"You can go, I'll wait for my sister," Kenny warned and they said good-bye before leaving.

The boy put the pack on his back and walked down to the elementary school, whose students were released a little later than high school.

He leaned against the wall and sighed as he waited bored for a few minutes, until finally the school door opened and the children began to leave. Karen didn't take long to leave, surprised to see Kenny waiting and hugging him tightly.

"How was your day?" Kenny asked and she smiled as she told him everything that had happened "...And what do you think about sleeping at a friend's house today?"

"Really?" She asked with a smile from ear to ear, since they never let her do that no matter how much the girl asked.

"Of course, Kevin's words." The blond man smiled and ruffled her hair.

"I'm going to speak to Tricia!" Karen said excitedly before entering again He didn't have to wait long until his sister left the room again, this time accompanied by another little redhead girl who looked strangely familiar.

"So let's go? "Kenny asked and they nodded.

Kenny would take them home to make sure they would arrive safely, so he escorted them to the exit, and when he saw Craig Tucker leaning against the wall beside the door, he frowned and then remembered why the little girl was so familiar, since she had the same _resting bitch face_ as Craig.

The other seemed so confused to see him.

"What are you doing here, McCormick?" Craig asked.

"I was taking my sister... to your house, apparently" Kenny said and Tricia started explaining to Craig that they would make a "pajama party"and blah blah blah. The boy didn't seem at all interested in his sister's conversation. He didn't expect to find Craig, but now that he did and knew the girls would be safe with him, Kenny couldn't help but ask "Can you take care of them?".

"Why? I also don't want to be a nanny"

"That way I can help my brother at work." Kenny said, "Please, Tucker"

"Okay," Craig said simply, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants.

"Please be careful with Karen... I don't even know what I would do if something happened to her," Kenny commented and Craig looked at him in surprise, but nodded. "Thank you. Hey, Karen," Kenny called and patted her hair. "Behave yourself. Craig is taking you two to his house."

"See you tomorrow?" She asked and the boy smiled, hugging her.

"Of course yes."

Kenny watched Craig accompany the two girls chatting avidly, until finally losing sight of them, deciding to go help Kevin at work, so he wouldn't have to stay up late at Skeeter. After a few minutes walking toward the bar, Kenny saw Skeeter himself walking the sidewalks across the street with a colleague, strange, since he was supposed to be at the bar.

The boy crossed quickly, stopping in front of his brother's chief, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you want, Kenneth?" He asked.

"Shouldn't you be taking care of the bar with Kevin?" The boy asked and Skeeter looked confused as he raised his eyebrow.

"The bar is closed today, he is off duty" The man said and this time it was Kenny who got confused, but decided to run home with a bad feeling in his gut.

After another 10 minutes of running as fast as he could until he reached the rails and the poor, utterly messy terrain that was his home, Kenny came in and sighed, since his mother was off doing god knows what. and his father was getting drunk somewhere. The boy went into his room and dropped the backpack as soon as he saw Kevin.

Kevin was sitting on his bed, staring at a paper in his hands and a huge backpack on his back. The older boy looked up and the blonde noticed that he had been crying because of the light red in his eyes. Kevin's eyes widened as he saw his younger brother there.

"What are you doing?" Kenny asked, still gasping for breath from running, before the other could say anything "Why the backpack? why the lie? why leave Karen in a friend's house?"

"I'm leaving," Kevin said after a long pause and the younger felt his stomach flutter. "That's why I told you to take Karen, so I'd be left alone while I packed my things."

"What? Why?"

"I'm going to get a bus and get out of the south park, I've saved enough money in to get away... from them," Kevin said, ignoring the question and Kenny felt betrayed.

"Y-you can't..." Kenny felt his voice tremble. Kevin was the oldest and the only one who could keep a job, he was the only reason they had food or survived.

"I want you to take care of yourself and Karen..." Kevin said and approached, putting money and the paper in the hand of the younger, who felt the tears closer and closer "I'm sorry... you shouldn't be here."

Kenny grabbed his arm and made him face him, tears already falling.

"Why?" He asked again, but the older man simply disengaged himself.

When Kevin walked back toward the door, leaving him alone with his tears, Kenny hated him with all his might - they were never too close and now the other had abandoned them out of sheer selfishness. The blonde tried to breathe deeply and control his anger, but the more he thought, the more he found to hate his older brother and he didn't even realize how long he had stood there, just thinking.

"fuck! fuck! Shit!" Kenny screamed and kicked his dresser several times. Panting, Kenny finally opened his hand and looked at it. The money was messed up by his anger, but there were $200 and the boy wanted to rip the damn money right away, but he knew he would need it.

The boy took the paper and saw that it was some kind of letter, but he simply crumpled and tossed it anywhere in his room while still trying to calm down and think about what he should do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how american schools works but I'm trying...


	2. Chapter 2

Kenny paced the house for hours, not knowing what to do or what to say to Karen when she returned... he was _fucked_ and needed a cigarette - Kenny isn't much of a smoker, but any addiction he acquired always disappeared when he died, so he didn't really care. He didn't have to search for long until he found Carol's cigarettes and almost lit one, but he remembered that Karen already smelled too much drugs in this house and didn't need another family member to pollute the place.

The boy left the house and started walking through the south park without a definite destination, lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag. Maybe he could spend the night away from home too, maybe Craig would... _no_ , Tweek would be jealous and Kenny would get into a drama he didn't have time to live. Stan? he was probably having sex with Wendy, he's been talking about her since they got back together for the twentieth time. Cartman was _not_ an option and Kyle's family didn't like him much, especially Gerald after the _cheesing_ incident... yeah, Kenny needed some better friends.

Kenny was wondering who else he could spend the night with, he knew of some girls who had a crush on him, maybe he could even have some fun to get the stress out of his head...

He was already away from home when he realized, and then he saw the New Kid leave the mall, he didn't seem to be having a good day either, so Kenny approached. He was no longer a "New" kid, but no one called him anything other than that or Douchebag and he never bothered to say his name, he never bothered to say _anything_ , actually. Kenny wondered if he was mute, but according to Cartman he told them to screw themselves one time.

"Hey, dude" Kenny greeted him and he was startled momentarily, but nodded at him "What are you doing here?" he asked, taking another drag of his cigarette, the other boy just shrugged before pointing at the cigarette with a questioning look "It won't become a habit, I'm just... having a rough day. Wanna try?" the boy nodded after a moment of hesitation and held out his hand, Kenny handed him the cigarette and Douchebag tried to smoke but began to cough and his face turned slightly red, which made Kenny laugh and give slight slaps on his back "Easy there, dude".

The New Kid continued to cough for a moment and then they found themselves walking side by side in the streets in a comfortable silence, Kenny smoking and the other boy just staring at him. They reached the peppermint hippo and Kenny smirked before poking his colleague with his elbow. That's exactly what he needed to forget Kevin, the fucking traitor.

But before Kenny could do or say anything, two guards abruptly left the place carrying an unconscious man, throwing him on the sidewalk. Kenny would have laughed if the man wasn't his father. Kenny took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, grunting with anger and frustration, already feeling a headache.

The blonde dropped his cigarette, stepping in it, and helped his father to his feet, placing his arm around his shoulders and before he could say goodbye to the New Kid, he was already helping him carry the man.

"You don't have to do this, but I appreciate the help!" Kenny said a little breathlessly as they carried his father's heavy body, the other boy just smiled a little. 

The strip bar was across the city, so it was a long walk, even more so with the dead weight they were carrying. Kenny may have dropped his father about three times... an _accident_ , _of course_. When they reached his house, they simply dropped the unconscious man on the couch, gasping for breath from the effort. Kenny stared at his drunken and possibly drugged father in anger before kicking him in the leg, he grunted but didn't wake up. Kenny wanted to keep kicking.

"Can I stay at your house?" The blonde asked suddenly without looking at the other boy, who touched his shoulder and nodded "Thank you.".

 

Kenny had already visited the New Kid's house in fourth grade and it hadn't changed much of anything outside. Douchebag stopped in front of the door and knocked, Kenny wondered why he needed to knock on his own door, but this was far from the strangest thing he'd ever seen in South Park.

"There you are! do you know what time is it?!" New Kid's father said as he opened the door with an annoyed face, but his expression changed as he noticed Kenny behind his son "Oh, I didn't know you brought a friend." He seemed genuinely surprised.

They entered the house and New Kid's mother seemed thrilled to see that he had brought a friend home. Kenny lived a long time in the middle of alcoholics to know that she was a little drunk. The boy ignored his parents' attempt to start a conversation and went upstairs to his bedroom, being accompanied by Kenny. New Kid locked his door before breathing deeply.

"What's the matter with your parents?" Kenny asked with a light laugh, the other boy just shrugged "You know, they're fucked up, but my family is even more fucked up, I hope this comforts you" He said with a smile, New Kid smiled too.

The kid went into his closet and took out a sleeping bag and a sheet, handing them to Kenny. He pointed to where the bathroom was in the hallway, and Kenny soon took a shower, cleaned up the sleeping bag, and dressed in the New Kid's borrowed clothes, they were a little tight, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey, thanks for this," Kenny said after both of them were settled "In this cold I would rather sleep in bed with a little body heat, but that's good too" he teased and winked at the New Kid, who blushed and tried to hide under his own covers before the other saw, but Kenny felt kinda guilty after the other's reaction "I hope I didn't offend you, it was a joke... I mean, unless you want to," he teased again and Douchebag smiled embarrassed under his sheets "Night" He said before turning the light off.

 

The next morning the blonde's back hurt from the little comfort the sleeping bag offered, but he was still grateful he had not woken up at his shitty house with his fucking father to yell at him. New Kids's mother offered breakfast, which they ate in disconcerting silence as the boy's parents stared at them intently.

"You used protection, right?" his father blurted out and the New Kid choked with the pancakes, coughing "I mean, you're gay and you bring a boy home and he stays the night..." Kenny realized that the man's intention was to really embarrass the boy and that made him angry, like _what the fuck?_ his own fucking father shouldn't want to make his son uncomfortable. Kenny had a fucked up father, but he was always under the influence of drugs, New kid's father wasn't, he did by the simple will to judge the boy.

"Don't worry, he swallowed," Kenny said with his most charming smile and loved seeing the face of the other boy's parents, his mother even dropped her fork while his father was the one to choke this time. New Kid looked at him with wide eyes and was surprised when Kenny hold his hand before they got out of the house.

When they passed the bus stop, they couldn't stop laughing at his parents' reaction. Kenny _almost_ forgot his new problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D:


End file.
